Oh Revlon! I do wish your mousse foundation looks like mousse and not alien pods

I’ve hmmed and hawed over this product for quite the longest time ever. I just could not quite figure out how best to approach it. “It”, in this case is the Revlon Photoready Airbrush Mousse Makeup or which I’d just call the Revlon Mousse foundation because that’s what it is. A mousse type foundation.

I must say I was quite intrigued by it when I first heard about it. A full coverage foundation in the form of a mousse and affordable. I’ve been trialing it since May and really, when I take this long to find out if I like a non skincare product, odds are its not something I’d tell you to fly out and buy RIGHT NOW! 😉

I must say however that it isn’t something to quite hate on either. It has its plus points and when I do manage to get it to work (Yes, I eventually did with the right combination of products!) it offers very lovely coverage. I will then complain about colour matching because there’s no satisfying this grinch 😉

The Revlon Mousse foundation is liquid foundation in the form of a mousse. It comes, like hair spray, in a tin can and you have to shake it up, then pump a dollop of mousse into your hand or on the back of your hand and then apply to your skin. Here’s where we encounter problem #1.

The nozzle is but a hole in the domed pump bit of the cap. The result as you can see, from just 1 use is a horribly gunky mess around the nozzle. I would personally prefer if there was a sticky out bit like how Shu Uemura made their mousse base. That sticky out bit actually minimizes this sort of gunky mess. Point to note, Revlon!

The thing with this mousse foundation is that you do not need a lot of product. It does have quite a full coverage so you only need a dollop which is about as much as you get if you hold your index finger and thumb in a circle. Yes, this is scientific. I can’t use coin sizes to denote how much you need any longer as I don’t even know the size of our new coins – fact!

I must say though, that I’m not sure that Revlon worked on this formula well enough. The product on its own is quite heavy and wet in texture (full coverage remember?) and may not be the best thing to put in mousse form, because it sinks and settles very quickly, and does not hold the airy shape and texture we have come to associate with a mousse. If this was a souffle, it’d be a failed one, because it starts to sink the minute you pump it out of the can.

I’ve read a few reviews extolling the virtues of the light airy texture. Personally, I don’t see it nor am I able to replicate it in any manner whatsoever. I can’t in good conscience say this has a light texture at all.

Alien pods invading my hands!

Can you see what I mean by the wet heavy texture? I also suspect that the can does not pump LOTS of little air bubbles into the product but instead pumps large air bubbles which results in this sort of bubbly texture as it starts to settle. This sample is roughly 5 seconds after I pumped it out of the can. I can’t take photos fast enough, it seems 😛

Its not very pleasant to look at, I’ll warrant. Bear in mind too that these are lighter shades in the range – 030 Nude and 020 Shell – and don’t look terribly unpleasant. When you go up the colour meter to the 3 deeper shades available locally – 050 Medium Beige, 060 Golden Beige and 080 Caramel – the texture and colour becomes quite unpleasant to look at and has been likened to poo (see Lily and Juan’s take on this) I’ve seen it, and I fully agree. I can’t imagine smearing that on my face, no matter how good it is. So, Revlon should really look at the method they have used to turn this into a mousse and improve on it. I’m surprised that no one mentioned this to the developers 😛

Ok, lets assume you managed to get over the bone chilling, spine tingling, goosebump inducing feeling after looking at the slightly alien pod textures above. The product itself isn’t that bad. Here are the swatches. I just took a tiny little bit from the mousse and swatched it down my arm.

The coverage is good and I must say a very little goes a very long way. I find it best to use fingers to apply this and to use only a tiny bit as you go, because really, it spreads well. The texture is a bit wet and a little heavy but when you spread it out it does not feel too bad. I must also note that there are many complaints about the foundation being too shiny and sparkly and shimmery but I can’t see it. I’ve swatched it and gone out in the sun and still don’t see it. I don’t know if its just me, to be honest. So many people complain about it so maybe its just me not seeing the sparkles. But I mention it because it might be something you don’t like.

Here’s what I mean by a good coverage.

One pass and it covers blemishes, marks and redness well. However… (this whole review is just full of buts isn’t it?!) as you can see, colour matching is a bit of a problem.

The lightest shade available locally is 030 Nude which isn’t all that light and is too dark for me. I managed to get my hands on 020 Shell which is the color I usually take in Revlon foundations and it was a much better match. However, it gave a slight white cast to my skin which looks a little unnatural. I did not quite notice it until after a few uses. When I mix Nude and Shell, I get a much better result. So this will be another thing to bear in mind.

Another thing I will note is that this foundation makes my skin oily. Throughout the day, I find that it slips a little and tends to settle in the crevices of the face especially around the nose. Also, it feels a little strange in that its dry but oily. It feels dry on the surface of my skin but it feels heavy and oily underneath. Is this even making sense? 😛

I experimented with using different primers under the foundation to no avail (not even the Revlon primer worked) and setting it with loose powder didn’t work either. Eventually, I found that using the Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder did the trick. This was the only product that helped keep the foundation from slipping and sliding and stopped it from turning oily. It might be pertinent to point out at this juncture that I don’t have oily skin and that my skin tends to being a little dry so this is really something.

I can’t, in all good conscience, tell you that this is a must have. Until I worked out what could set it properly and to get the right colour match, I was all ready to trash it. I can tolerate it now but its not something I reach for. I don’t get bugged by the mousse texture because what I do is smear it out once it is pumped out. If you have oily skin however, I’d tell you to look elsewhere for your foundation. This might just end up being too heavy and oily for your skin.

In a nutshell

The Revlon Photoready Airbrush Mousse Makeup foundation is a liquid foundation that pumps out in a mousse form. The texture is rather heavy and wet and a little goes a very long way. This is in particular as the coverage is quite full and so you do not need very much. I found that colour match locally was a little limited as we only get 4 shades – 030 Nude, 050 Medium Beige, 060 Golden Beige and 080 Caramel. The texture in the deeper colours is not very pleasant to look at. I also found that although the coverage was relatively good, the foundation made my skin feel oily. I found that a silica setting powder worked best to keep it from sliding and oiling up. However those who have oily skin may want to steer clear of this. In our hot and humid weather, it does not help either. All in all, this isn’t one of Revlon’s best base offerings and Revlon usually does good bases in my book. Try again next time, Revlon.

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About Paris B

Paris B is a 40-something beauty and skincare enthusiast with a practical and very critical view of beauty products and the world of beauty. Her mission on My Women Stuff is to deliver clear, honest reviews and discussions about beauty trends and life, tempered with a healthy dose of humour. Let the buyer's remorse be ours not yours! When not testing the newest skincare creams and lotions, or playing with makeup, find her testing her culinary skills in the kitchen at Chez PB. Read more about us here or leave a comment below or connect with us on social media at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

I was so enamoured by this that I bought it from Priceline a few days after it launched here. I initially love it – Shell 002 was the perfect colour match but it broke me out 🙁 I didn’t get the oily sensation possibly because my skin’s really parched but breaking me out was the deal breaker. I’m trying to see who I’ve passed it on to. (memory of a goldfish)

Anything that breaks you out is definitely a deal breaker! I remember you telling me it had lovely coverage. Its a pity it didn’t work – I can’t remember if you got a horrible textured mousse but maybe you didn’t or I’m sure you’d have mentioned it! 😉

Thanks Lily – I did think there were some (albeit very few) merits to the product 😉 Interestingly I do notice that it is selling at the counters so some people must like it – just not us I guess hehe….

Recently brought a friend over Inglot to get the lipstick that I wanted her to try because she tried mine and loved it. In the end she got a lipstick and a liquid foundation only at RM68!! Texture looked quite nice on her though – I don’t se liquid as i have oily skin and don’t want to look oilyx2. 😛

Actually I’d put it the slightly pricey end of drugstore/pharmacy but yet not mid or high end because that’s now starting from RM100 and up it would seem 😛 Gosh we just can’t keep up with prices can we 😛 I haven’t tried the Inglot foundation but I remember I tested it once and I found it heavy. But then, I do go for a sheer foundation most of the time so that might be why certain brands/ranges don’t appeal 🙂

It doesn’t seem like anything for me, I have to say. I’ve found one good foundation that I like (from Exuviance), but it’s not perfect so I’m still looking for my perfect foundation. Which is your favorite one so far?

I haven’t tried anything from Exuviance but I do like the RMK liquid foundation. Its got good texture and coverage. I also like Diorskin Nude, Bourjois Healthy Mix and Healthy Mix Serum, ZA, Shiseido Perfect Refining… just to name a few LOL!

Egad it looks gross! :s I was just wondering if the humidity back home turned this product into nothing but gunk as I tested this out at Boots after reading Lily’s review but the mousse came out looking like proper mousse, and not some strange alien-like substance! Still, I will stay away from this as I can’t bring myself to purchase something that looks like that. Eww!

Hmm… now that you mention it Sukie, I do wonder if it is indeed the weather that turns the mousse into alien pods! 😛 Some of the samples I see online aren’t as gross but it does look very “wet” for a mousse.

I tried the tester at Watson and it bugged me that one squeeze has too much mousse came out, it is such a waste of product. I can barely use up half of the mousse on my entire face. It feels sticky too.

Despite the negativities of it all in this, it still works better for me than the Shu Uemura versions. Still i can’t stand the stench of this foundation. I’m sort of getting used to it now though after several use of it. Can’t revlon work on the scent of their products? The color match is not quite right too for me. The lightest shade available here is also 030. I wonder why they do not bring in lighter shades which should be popular too.

Another reader has commented on the smell too but I didn’t notice it. How odd. I think the Shu Uemura one is more of a base and so doesn’t have much, if any coverage. But I found that drying, and this one oily. We get 030 as the lightest shade here too. 020 which is one step down is actually a bit off for our Asian skin colouring, I feel. The white cast is too strong. That might be why they didn’t bring it in. That said, 020 + 030 gave me the best colour match 😛

Hi i loved your review of revlon air brush mousse makeup. Your pictures tell it all. i was told this is one of the best foundations that photograph well. My brother’s wedding is up the corner and so i was really thankful i read your blog.Love you.